Blizzard has revealed what's coming in tomorrow's Hearthstone Battlegrounds revamp, "the biggest Battlegrounds update to date," which will see a whopping 37 minions replaced, the addition of two new heroes, a new Battlegrounds-specific keyword (basically a card ability) called 'Avenge', and a limit on the amount of damage that players can inflict during the opening rounds.
The new damage cap of 15 will be in place until the first player in a lobby dies or disconnects, which should slow the pace of the game somewhat and ensure that players don't get immediately demolished by opponents who have made particularly lucky minion comps. Turn timers are also being increased to give everyone time to get a handle on the new content: Players will get an extra five seconds to make up their minds during turns 3-9, and Blizzard "may further adjust the length of turns sometime in the future."
Here's the full rundown of general updates coming in the revamp:
- Battlegrounds Specific Keyword added, Avenge: Does something after (x) friendly minions die.
- The length of turns 3-9 have been increased by 5 seconds. We may further adjust the length of turns sometime in the future.
- Darkmoon Prizes have been disabled.
- All players’ Battlegrounds ratings have been reset for a new season.
- Damage cap of 15 damage has been added until the first player dies. Please note that the damage cap does not check for player deaths until the start of each Recruit Phase, meaning if someone concedes, disconnects, or dies during the Recruit Phase (Is Wrath Weaver ever really on your team?), the damage cap will still be present for that combat.
- Players with Battlegrounds Perks are now more likely to be offered new Heroes during the two-week early access period that follows their initial announcement. In every lobby during the two-week early access period, the option to play with new Heroes will be distributed at random between players with Battlegrounds Perks. No player will be offered more than one new Hero.
And here are the new heroes:
Master Nguyen
- Power of the Storm [Passive]: At the start of every turn, choose from 2 new Hero Powers.
Cariel Roame
- Conviction (Rank 1): Give a random friendly minion +1/+1. (Upgrades at Tavern Tier 3.)
- Conviction (Rank 2): Give three random friendly minions +1/+1. (Upgrades at Tavern Tier 5.)
- Conviction (Rank 3): Give five random friendly minions +1/+1.
The list of new minions and their abilities is way too long to get into here, but you can get the full lowdown on them—and who they're replacing—at playhearthstone.com.
